Love Her
by Seething Pyro
Summary: Hermione has problems and Draco tries to help her. What if he can't? Inspired by the Seether song "Love Her"


Chapter 1  
  
She Used Her Body To Sell Her Soul  
  
A/N: This is going to be a one chapter fic. I was inspired by the Seether song "Love Her" and decided to turn it into something. It won't be any good, but I like the song, so deal with it.  
  
She stood there on the corner of the street with all the other girls. Her attire consisted of a black leather miniskirt and a black tank top with a fishnet shirt underneath, fishnet stockings and black stilettos. Her hair was slightly curled and fell half way down her back. On her face she wore make-up, but way too much of it. One hand shoulder was leaning against the wall and her legs were crossed at the ankles, with the point of her shoe on the ground.  
  
That night, on the twenty-third of August, was the first time I saw her. I was walking around London, half drunk, and in a semi-depressed state. My girlfriend of three years had just broken up with me and I wanted nothing else than to drown in my sorrows.  
  
Beautiful was the word that came to mind when I looked at her. Her body was perfect; her face beautiful. She would have looked even more wonderful had it not been for all the make-up and the frown upon her lips. Her brown eyes held nothing but sorrow that most men would not see, but even in a half drunk stupor I could see she was alone.  
  
I walked up to her and she smiled seductively up at me. "Hey, gorgeous, can I show you a good time?" she asked. She uncrossed her legs and walked up to me, placing her hands on my chest. Even in the darkness of the alleyway, I could tell that she needed help. I nodded and decided to take her up to my home. No, I did not want sex, but I did want to help this poor, lost soul.  
  
We took the train to my house. She seemed in awe of how big it was. Her eyes traveled over the large entrance hall as she took in everything.  
  
"This way, Miss," I said as I took her by the hand and led her up a few flights of stairs until we reached my room. I flicked on the lights and sat upon my bed.  
  
She looked at me tentatively, probably wondering why I wasn't attempting to fuck her senseless yet. I saw her eyes look at everything in my room. For some reason those eyes seemed familiar, but I didn't know any whores, so I knew I was imagining things and it was the alcohol that was making me think that way.  
  
"Well?" she said, rather impatiently. "Are you gunna do something or am I gunna have to leave and not get paid for this time?" As she turned to me, I could see that she was getting irritated that I had not tried anything yet.  
  
I looked her up and down once more. She looked quite uncomfortable standing there as if she knew something that I didn't know. "What's your name hon?" I asked, patting the bed next to me, indicating for her to sit down.  
  
She walked over, swaying her hips, and sat down next to me. "The name's Jade, sexy. And I will do anything you ask of me."  
  
"Jade, I want nothing from you. I took you here because I could see that you need help. Do not worry, I will pay more than you ask, but I don't want sex." I could see an outraged look in her eyes. "I didn't mean to offend you, but you looked like you could use a friend."  
  
She stood up and looked out one of the large windows at the night sky. It was obvious that she was thinking long and hard about something, but I didn't know what. I wished I could read her mind. Why was I being so nice anyway? I never had been before.  
  
I stood up and wrapped my hands around her waist and began kissing her neck slowly and sensually. Nuzzling her a little, I whispered, "If it is sex you wish for, I will do that for you, but I do want to be your friend." She placed her hands on my arms and rubbed them up and down. "So what is it you want?"  
  
She turned around and kissed my lips. "I'm sorry, but I do not share the happenings of my personal life with customers. If it's sex you want, that's what you'll get, otherwise take me home, as I have no idea where we are right now. Talking is not part of my job requirements. All I do is fuck you, get paid, and I leave. There are no emotions involved here. As kind of a notion as that is, I must decline to take you up on the offer because I cannot get attached. I need this money, so take me or not. If not, I will leave."  
  
I just stared down at her, refusing to take my hands off of her. I knew that even though she refused to tell me, she still wanted someone to be there for her and make her feel special.  
  
"Look, Jade, my girlfriend just ended a three year relationship. Neither of us wants sex and both of us want someone to talk to. Don't deny that either because I can see it in your eyes." I paused for a second, but not long enough for her to come up with some witty remark. "Forget it, if you want to leave, leave. How much do I owe you?" I took my hands off of her body and went for my wallet.  
  
A mental battle was going on in her mind. Her eyes were darting wildly around the room, as she struggled to come up with an answer. I just watched her, prepared to pay more than she asked, just for bothering her.  
  
She sighed, a long, deep sigh. "The truth is-" she paused so she could receive my name.  
  
"Draco."  
  
I saw a look of shock cross her face, but it quickly disappeared. "The truth is, Draco, I do need someone to talk to," she said quietly. "But I don't know if that you would be the person for me to talk to. I wouldn't want to bore you with all of my problems."  
  
I pursed my lips together and slid my wallet into the back right pocket of my pants once more. Once again I took her hand and I pulled her down on the bed with me so that we were sitting facing each other. I took a tissue from the side of my face and began wiping off the heavy make-up she wore. Really, she was beautiful without it. She didn't try to stop me once, just let me touch her gingerly.  
  
"You don't have to tell me your whole life story," I assured her as I placed the tissue in the wastebasket. "Just tell me how you got into all of...this shit. I'm curious to know."  
  
She took my hand in hers and kissed it softly. "To tell you that, I would have to tell you the truth about my background, and I'm not sure that I am ready to share that with someone who has disliked me for so long."  
  
It finally struck me like lightning who this young girl was. "Hermione?" I felt my eyes go wide as I stared at her. She dropped my hand and headed for the door. "No, don't go."  
  
"Draco, we both know that I shouldn't be here."  
  
I stared at her. "No, I want you to be. I think we can help each other out."  
  
She walked back tentatively and sat down again. I took her hand and held it between mine. "You're a Pureblood, Draco. I'm a Mudblood. We live in different worlds. I shouldn't even be walking in your house. I have made this beautiful place dirty because I have entered. You're parents are going to want to move out because someone like me has set foot here. I don't belong."  
  
I shook my head. "No, Hermione. You are an amazing witch and I am honored that it was you who I brought home and not someone else. Please tell me, how did you become what you are?"  
  
"I was abandoned and I need the money to pay for the shit-ass apartment I live in. I can hardly support myself. That is how this happened. No one knows. No one knows it's me out there on the streets. I have to do what I have to in order to stay alive. There is no one who care about me." As she finished, a tear rolled down her cheek. "I hate this place, Draco and the only reason I'm still in town is because of Hogwarts."  
  
I met a girl who hated the world  
  
She used her body to sell her soul  
  
I hugged her at that moment. She was all alone. "Who abandoned you?" I asked quietly.  
  
"Everyone," she whispered. "My parents, Harry, Ron. Everybody."  
  
"So why did you get into the...business you're in?"  
  
She looked down. "Like I said, I needed money. Every night I go out there and they do what they want with me. I don't fight it. I just need the money."  
  
Every time they'd break her and pay  
  
Tear out her heart and leave her in pain  
  
"It hurts so much, Draco," she mumbled. "They abuse me, some of them. All they care about are their own needs and not about the feelings of the girls they hurt." She wasn't looking directly at me, but still down at our hands.  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't be in this," I told her. "There is so much more out there for you. You are the smartest person in our year. You have so many options. So why do you go out on the streets and sell yourself to the next man who comes along?"  
  
She smiled at me. "Must I keep telling you, silly? I need the money."  
  
I rubbed her arms and noticed that she winced a bit. "What is it? What's wrong? Did I hurt you in any way?" I was actually worried about her. I didn't know why, but I wanted to save her from all of the pain and sadness she felt.  
  
"It's nothing," she assured me. "Just some bruises, from some of them."  
  
I never found out how she survived  
  
All of the sadness and pain kept inside  
  
I never found out how she could lie  
  
With a smile on her face and the scratches she'd hide  
  
"Let me see," I said.  
  
"I can't," she responded tentatively. "They're all over me."  
  
I cupped her face in my hand. "Don't worry. I will heal them. Just let me see where they are. It won't take long. I promise."  
  
Slowly, she pulled off her tank top and the fishnet shirt she wore beneath. Her chest and arms were adorned in bruises and scratches. I pulled out my wand and healed them for her. With a quick, thank you, she replaced her clothes.  
  
"How much do they pay you?" I whispered.  
  
She shook her head. "That's not important. I won't make you pay. I haven't done anything with you, so you won't need to. Don't worry about it."  
  
You could love her if you paid  
  
You could have her everyday You could love her if you prayed You could have her everyway  
  
"I just want to help you out. I'll give you as much as you need," I told her.  
  
"That's just is, Draco! I don't want this anymore! I don't want to live off anyone else's money anymore. That's not what I want to be. All my dreams have died since I've started this life and I want to end it, and I know I can. I know how."  
  
She slid off the bed and onto the floor. I knew that she was crying, but she didn't want me to see the tears she shed. "Hermione, I'm just trying to help you. Let me help you to get started on a new life. You can even crash here for a while. Let me help you."  
  
Down on her knees she wept on the floor  
  
This hopeless life she wanted no more  
  
"It's hopeless, Draco," she choked out. "There is nothing out there for me. I have no family, no friends, and no future."  
  
"Of course you do," I tried to reassure her, even though I know my attempts were futile. "You just have to finish school first. We've only got one year left. Why not at least finish and then see where you want to go and what to do?"  
  
"Because Draco, I am all alone. I don't have anything to live for. It's all over. My life might as well be over because there is nothing I have left."  
  
It hurt me so much to hear her say that. She was one of the brightest people I knew and she had so much more to live for. All she had to do was open her eyes and see that I wanted to be her friend, but I didn't know if she'd be able to do that.  
  
Dead in her mind and cold to the bone  
  
She opened her eyes and saw she was alone  
  
"I'm going to go now, Draco," she said as she stood up.  
  
He nodded. "At least let me take you home."  
  
"Okay," she agreed.  
  
We took the train back to London and she when we reached her apartment I hugged tightly and watched her go inside. Once she had turned and locked the door, I headed back to the Malfoy Manor. I stayed up all night that night thinking about her. I vowed to myself that I would check up on her the next morning.  
  
At 10 in the morning, I decided to head back out to London to make sure that she was alright. The train ride seemed to take longer that day. Maybe it was because I was so apprehensive about it. I knew she probably didn't want to see me after what had happened the night before.  
  
I walked the few blocks to her house and knocked on the door. I waited for an answer and when it didn't come I knocked again. Still no answer. Finally I decided to open the door and walk in. Her apartment was spotless, as I figured it would be. She was nowhere in the living room or kitchen, so I decided to check the bedroom.  
  
As I approached her door, I got this sinking feeling in my stomach, like I didn't want to see what was on the other side. Slowly, I let the door creak open. What met my eyes made me do what I had never done before. I broke down and I cried.  
  
She never found out how much I tried  
  
All of the sadness she kept made me blind She never found out how much I cried The rope so tight on the night that she died  
  
There she was, hanging from the ceiling in her room. She was still clothed in the same outfit she had worn when I had picked her up the previous night. I kneeled below her feet and held her legs. I cried onto her leather shoes. Why hadn't I been able to save her from that life? Why hadn't she listened to me?  
  
You could love her if you paid.  
  
You could have her everyday  
  
You could love her if you prayed You could have her everyway  
  
At the funeral I still had tears running down my face. I never told her how much I loved her. She never knew everything that I felt for her and now she never would. I couldn't believe that Hermione Granger, the perfect Gryffindor, the perfect friend, the perfect prefect had killed herself. I was willing to help her. I was willing to do anything that she would have wanted me to.  
  
I never found out how she survived  
  
A life lived in lies is a life of denial I never found out how she could lie With a smile on her face and the darkness inside  
  
"Goodbye, Hermione," I whispered as I let a tear and a rose fall onto her black coffin.  
  
You could love her if you paid.  
  
You could have her everyday  
  
You could love her if you prayed You could have her everyway 


End file.
